IRAN: At least 28 people were killed after a jet burst into flames on landing at an airport in north-eastern Iran yesterday in the latest in a string of disasters that has prompted mounting concern about the country's air safety record.
The Russian-built Tupolev 154 caught fire after a tyre burst as it touched down at the shrine city of Mashad. First reports suggested 80 of the 148 people on board had been killed, but this figure was later downgraded by the country's civil aviation organisation.
The aircraft, operated by Iranairtours, was en route from the southern port of Bandar Abbas. Initial reports suggested that many of its passengers were pilgrims visiting the tomb of Imam Reza, one of Shia Islam's most revered figures, who is buried in Mashad, about 620 miles from Tehran.
Iranian state television showed the charred jet beside the runway as firefighters tackled the blaze. Rescue teams carried out corpses covered in blankets. A gash could be seen in the middle of the fuselage, while the cockpit and rear appeared largely undamaged.
Airline safety has become a sensitive issue in Iran following a spate of crashes that has killed hundreds of people in recent years.
Iran's rulers blame US sanctions prohibiting the sale of Boeing and Airbus aircraft to Iran. The embargo has forced Iran to buy ageing Soviet-made planes and to scour the black market for parts for older US-built craft bought before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Many of the country's worst air disasters have involved Soviet-made models. Three crashes involving such planes killed more than 400 people in 2002 and 2003.
- (Guardian service)